Current Affairs - November 17, 2020 Current Affairs

The International Day for Tolerance is celebrated yearly to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is observed on 16 November. On 16 November 1995, the member states of UNESCO which is a specialized agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance.

Melbourne Renegades spinner Molly Strano created history on Sunday when she became the first bowler to claim 100 wickets in the Women's Big Bash League. Strano achieved the feat during the Renegades' match against Melbourne Stars at Sydney Showground Stadium. Strano claimed figures of 2 for 38 in her four overs, dismissing opener Elyse Villani and Alana King. Jess Jonassen is the second-highest wicket-taker in WBBL.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Turkish Grand Prix 2020, held on 15 November 2020. This was his 10th victory of the season, and 94th F1 win of his career Also with this win, he claimed the seventh Formula One championships title of his career to equal the record of Michael Schumacher. Sergio Perez secured second position and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari finished third.

FIH President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra has been awarded with Capital Foundation National Award 2020 in a virtual ceremony on Saturday. The hockey admino has been recognized for his 4-decade long contribution towards sports promotion. The Capital Foundation Annual Lecture & Awards 2020 were conducted by the Justice Krishna Iyer Free Legal Aid Cell and Capital Foundation Society. The Society brings together persons of thought and interest who deliberate and articulate public opinion on vital issues.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) constituent laboratory Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC) based in Chennai has developed an indigenous technology, Emergency Retrieval System (ERS), for quick retrieval of power transmission in the event of failure of transmission line towers. CSIR-SERC has signed an agreement for licensing of the ERS technology with M/s Advait Infratech, Ahmedabad.

15 Asia Pacific countries have signed the world's biggest free trade deal, led by China, on 15 November 2020, on the sidelines of the 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit. The deal called as 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)', is the world's largest trading bloc, comprising of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Members of the RCEP accounts for nearly a third of the world's population and around 29% of global gross domestic product (GDP).

National Press Day is celebrated on 16 November. National Press Day is celebrated on 16th November 2020. This day is celebrated every year to to commemorate the establishment of the Press Council of India which was formed in 1966. Press Council of India is a statutory, adjudicating organization in India formed in 1966 by its parliament. The day marks the presence of free and responsible press.

Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the fourth straight term today. Fourteen other ministers will be sworn in along with him. His new deputies - BJP's Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi - will be among those who will take oath today at the event that will be attended by Home Minister Amit Shah. Mr Kumar, who heads the JD(U), was administered the oath of office at Raj Bhavan by Governor Phagu Chauhan, a day after he staked claim for the formation of a new government in the state, armed with unanimous support of all legislators of the NDA despite his partys plummeted tally.

The Convention on Wetlands is also known as the Ramsar Convention. It is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO and came into force in 1975. The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.

Department of Science and Technology launched a scheme 'SERB POWER' to encourage and support emerging as well as eminent women researchers to undertake R&D activities in areas of science and engineering. Speaking at the 8th BRICS STI Ministerial Meeting held on Friday, Vardhan said India is also hosting clinical trials for all the major vaccines, and about 20 vaccines are in different stages of development.

Japan's Panasonic Corp has appointed Yuki Kusumi, the head of its automotive business, as its next chief executive officer, replacing Kazuhiro Tsuga, Kusumi, as the head of the automotive business, oversaw the launch of a joint battery venture with Toyota Motor Corp in April, which took over Panasonic's business in thin, rectangular-shaped prismatic batteries.

The ageing sector HelpAge India has been chosen as laureate in the 'institutional category' for the 2020 United Nations Population Award. The selection comes in recognition of the organization's contribution towards serving the disadvantaged elderly and raising awareness on the cause of the elderly.

Natkhat, starring and co-produced by Vidya Balan, has won the top prize at the third edition of Best Of India Short Film Festival 2020, which makes it eligible for Oscar nominations. Directed by Shaan Vyas, the film has been showcased at the 2020 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, London Indian Film Festival. The film is a confronting story of a mother teaching her young son about gender equality and calling out toxic misogyny.

The Keetham lake, also known as Sur Sarovar, in Agra of Uttar Pradesh has been added to the list of Ramsar sites. The Lonar Lake in Buldhana district of Maharashtra has been chosen as a wetland site of international importance under the Ramsar conservation treaty. A Ramsar Site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The name Ramsar comes from Ramsar City of Iran, where this treaty was signed.

Larsen & Toubro has emerged as the lowest bidder to construct a 20 km, 4-lane road bridge across the River Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Phulbari, which will be the country's longest bridge over a river. The bridge will connect the eastern States of Assam and Meghalaya, and the project is being financed by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). The bridge will better connect the North Eastern states to the rest of India, and will provide an additional domestic link for Meghalaya.

The Department of Health & Family Welfare launched the SAANS (Social Awareness & Action to Neutralize Pneumonia Successfully) campaign for reducing the overall burden of childhood pneumonia in Odisha State. Pneumonia is one of the topmost killers of under-five children contributing to 14% of under-five mortality. The SAANS Campaign will be spread over three and a half months, starting from 12th November, 2020 to 28th February, 2021.

On the occasion of Children's Day, a first-of-its kind in the world, library on tram for children was launched in Kolkata, West Bengal on 14 November 2020. A tram is a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks along public streets. The 'Kolkata Young Reader's Tramcar' is the world's first such tram library. The tram would run on Shyambazar-Esplanade and Esplanade-Gariahat routes, spanning across north and south Kolkata, every day from morning to evening.

There are 41 Ramsar sites in India (as on 13th Nov 2020). These are wetlands deemed to be of "international importance" under the Ramsar Convention. According to WWF-India, wetlands are one of the most threatened of all ecosystems in India. Loss of vegetation, salinization, excessive inundation, water pollution, invasive species, excessive development and road building, have all damaged the country's wetlands. As of November 2020 there are 41 recognized Ramsar sites in India.

Kadapa district has bagged Union Jal Shakti ministry's award for water conservation efforts. Last year, the Centre had selected 255 drought-hit districts to take up water conservation projects. The Centre had promised to honour the districts which implemented the programmes as per the mandate. Led by collector Chevuri Harikiran and District Water Management Authority (DWMA) project director Yadubhushan Reddy, the administration rolled out different works in the 13-mandals-with poor groundwater reserves.

Puducherry govt. has launched Kalaignar Karunanidhi Breakfast Scheme 2020 to provide food absolutely free of cost to school students. The scheme has been named after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president Kalaignar M Karunanidhi for government and government aided school students. Chief Minister- V Narayanasamy.